Allies of Convenience: Pirates of the Badlands Series Book 1

by Sean Benjamin

  “While on the way to the Nomad belt, if we outrun their sensors, we will impersonate various ships to send out reports of our progress to the Nomad area so the pursuing GorCon force will know our general whereabouts. They must pursue us now as the OrCons need to bring this to a conclusion, and the Goths will want to avenge the loss of their base. The pursuit will also move them toward Rosstrappe so the GorCons will be chasing us and moving toward their base at the same time. Once we get in the vicinity of Nomad, things will really get interesting.”

  Tactical covered the battle plan for the Nomad asteroid belt. She went over the primary plan, three contingencies, and the plans to handle the relief convoy if the convoy arrived there. If there were a relief convoy coming, the smart move for the GorCon pursuers would be to time their arrival at the asteroid belt to coincide with the convoy’s arrival from a different direction thus putting the Zekes and pirates between the two forces. But the asteroid belt was much closer to Harper’s Reef than to Rosstrappe so the OrCons and Goths would have to slow down to allow time for the convoy to arrive. It was doubtful the OrCons would want to do that and share the kill with a large Goth force.

  After the general briefing of the Nomad battle plan, the meeting broke down into operational groups. As people moved to their groups, Baby Doll stood up and Sky followed suit.

  “Exactly why did we sit together?” asked Sky.

  “I just wanted to meet you FTF,” Baby Doll smiled sweetly. “And to pass some info.” She turned serious and leaned toward Sky. “Stay away from O’Hare. She doesn’t play well with other kids, especially other kids from outside of our playground. The other captains will follow Hawkins’ lead but O’Hare won’t, if for no other reason just to be a pain. I think you’re being straight with us, and so does the Captain. He will be straight with you ... to the bitter end. Please return the favor.”

  “I intend to do exactly that. Did Captain Hawkins ask you to sit with me?”

  “No. He would never do that. He already trusts you.” Baby Doll smiled at her again. “And if he didn’t trust you, he would be much more subtle than having me grab a seat next to you. I think he’s right to trust you, but Tactical and I have been looking out for him for a long time. Tough to break the habit.”

  Baby Doll smiled a third time and turned to join the gathering intel officers.

  As she moved away, Raferty came up to stand beside Sky. “A word, please.”

  Sky nodded and the two moved to a corner away from listening ears. Rafe set up with his back to the room and began, “Not sure what Baby Doll was up to, but I apologize if it was uncomfortable.”

  “Not at all. She provided insight into the pirate culture.”

  “Well, if you understand it now, please explain it to me.”

  Both smiled at that, and Rafe gestured behind him. “I’ve got to address my captains in private before they return to this room to get their detailed brief from Tactical. Feel free to wait or do whatever strikes your fancy.”

  “I would like to listen in if acceptable.”

  “No problem.” Rafe moved away to where the captains were gathered in a small room off the recreation room where there would be some privacy. Sky had a quick word with her chief of staff and followed Hawkins. He stopped at the door and allowed Sky to pass him into the room. Hawkins entered and pushed the door shut. As Sky quietly took a seat in the back of the group, Rafe grabbed an empty chair and moved to the front of the group. He turned the chair backwards, sat down straddling the seat, and crossed his forearms on the back of the chair. He nodded to the group as they lounged in their seats. Sky smiled to herself. In the Fleet, officers were expected to rise when their commander enters the room and not sit down until their commander was seated. That plainly did not happen here.

  Hawkins jumped right in. “Let me emphasize a couple of points. I’m in command of the attacking force at the Reef, and Captain Mallory is in command of the high guard. At Nomad, we will function as separate commands, but will coordinate at all times. That is not the way it’s done in the Empire, and Captain Mallory understands we don’t do things the Empire way.” Smiles and the nodding of heads greeted the last statement. “If I’m waxed, command will fall to Captain O’Hare. I know she will perform in the spirit as discussed here.” Several glances were made in O’Hare’s direction, but she remained still and silent. “This is going to be a hard fight, and we can only win if we function as a group and not as single ships. Do what you’re told to do when you’re told to do it. The last thing we need is someone on their own agenda at a critical time. There are two fights ahead of us, so there will be plenty of death and destruction for everyone.”

  “Not enough for me,” O’Hare piped up.

  There was laughter and nods of agreement.

  Rafe smiled, “There is never enough for you.” More laughter and nods. The two of them exchanging comments was obviously a common occurrence during these command meetings.

  “Everyone will get a chance to excel against the enemy, but nobody goes off on their own. Be where you are supposed to be. The enemy is primed for this fight. We need to be too.”

  He stood up and scanned the room. “That’s all I got. Anyone got something to add.”

  Nobody spoke up although Sky noticed several captains glanced at O’Hare. Apparently, O’Hare getting in a last word was standard procedure. But not today. After a few silent seconds, everyone stood and moved toward the door. Killian O’Hare departed in silence. The other captains followed her out in conversation with each other. The group moved to the operations group to join with the ops officers and receive a detailed brief from Tactical. Rafe eyed Riki Takahashi before she exited the briefing room. He joined her off to the side of the room.

  “You get the mines from the supplies here?” Rafe asked.

  “Yup. I’m taking every last one of them. Also got several hundred from the Zekes.”

  Hawkins nodded in satisfaction. “Excellent. We’ll need them in place before we get there. Do you see a problem in the timing?”

  Riki shook her head. “Nope. We’ll have plenty of time. We’ll get them in and at the exact spots.”

  “I know you’ll get it done. Will the missile boats be ready?”

  Riki smiled, “Of course! All three ships will be up and ready.”

  “Good. We’ll need the broadsides or it will not be pretty.”

  “Have I ever failed you?” She asked as she stepped toward the door.

  “Not even once,” Hawkins replied quietly. Riki smiled at that as she walked out the door. Soon Rafe and Sky were all alone in the small room.

  Rafe turned to her, “Buy you a beer?”

  “Why not,” Sky replied.

  The two walked out the door and down the passageway. Rafe stopped at a door at the end of the passageway and put his palm on a security scan. A short buzz and the door unlocked. Rafe pushed it open and entered as the lights flicked on automatically. Sky followed him into a small room with a bunk against one wall, a desk against the opposite wall with three chairs in front of it. A small cooling unit sat between the desk and the wall. Rafe opened the unit and Sky saw several beers on the racks inside. Rafe removed two beers, opened them, placed them on the desk, and pointed to a padded chair next to the desk. Sky sat as Rafe took the seat behind the desk.

  “Your hideaway within the hideaway?” asked Mallory as she sampled the beer and discovered she liked it.

  “There were three small spaces built for the shift supervisors during the mining corporation and we use them for the ship captains to conduct business.” Rafe gestured behind him at two doors in the opposite wall from the entry. “There is a closet and head back there. Gives a bit of privacy.”

  Rafe looked back at Mallory and began, “I have a big favor to ask. This structure is one of our main bases in the Badlands and is our primary base in this sector. Damn few people in the flotilla have the coordinates and nobody outside of our flotilla knows about it until now. I would greatly appreciate it if you could--.”
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  Sky cut in, “I will see to it that all references to the base and its coordinates are erased from all our databases. We will only refer to it as a rendezvous in our reports and ship histories.”

  Hawkins was obviously relieved. “Thank you. We need to keep this place close hold. It took lots of work to bring this hideout up to its current level.”

  “No problem.” Sky now shifted the conversation. “Tell me about the earrings and daggers. Seems to be ship driven.”

  “True. Captains and crews of each ship came up with their own design for both. The only requirement is the ship’s name must appear on the blade of the dagger.”

  With that, Hawkins withdrew his dagger for display. Along the blade the word PREDATOR was ornately etched into the blade on one side. He returned it to its sheath in his boot. “All crewmembers have a dagger and get to keep it as long as they are in good standing. Even if they leave their ship. My own policy is as long as you have a dagger from my ship, you are a member of my crew, and I will always try to help you if I can. If someone falls out of our good graces, we collect the dagger back and it is destroyed.” Rafe smiled now, “I’ve been told they have become quite the collector’s items in some parts of the universe. All the dagger souvenirs are probably accompanied with a harrowing tale as to how the collector personally killed the pirate and took the dagger.”

  “I can see people claiming that. How many times have people claimed to have killed you?”

  “I know of four instances when I was supposedly killed - once by the Goths, twice by planetary governments, and once by other pirates.” Hawkins shrugged. “I don’t mind. Resurrection on a regular basis helps the image.” He smiled now. “And when I resurrect myself, I do so in an appropriately flashy manner to rub their noses in the claim.”

  Sky nodded and then leaned forward. She now made the request she really wanted to make. “Tell me about yourself.”

  Rafe was a bit wary. “Not much to talk about. Came to the Badlands as a kid with my family. Family was killed and I drifted around. Nothing special. There are thousands of people with basically the same story here.”

  It was obvious Hawkins didn’t want to talk about it, but Sky sensed this would be a rare opportunity to learn about her new ally so she pressed. “There may be thousands of people with the same story, but very few of them became a flotilla leader.”

  Hawkins smiled. “Thank you for omitting the word pirate when you mentioned flotilla leader.” He now leaned back against his chair and got a faraway look in his eyes. “There is injustice everywhere. There is evil everywhere. There are power grabbers everywhere. Can’t be wiped out. Simply conditions of humanity. But in the Badlands, these traits are ingrained in the majority of the governments, corporations, and powerful individuals. It perpetuates itself over the years. On top of all that, there are the Goths trying to move in. They represent money and power so all the Badlands players try to suck up to them to get their support. This way of life needs to be fought. There are good people here. More good than bad. We need to make an effort to fight back and at least try to make it better.”

  “So you don’t see yourself as a pirate?”

  “Oh, I am definitely a pirate. I work outside the law. I steal and I kill. I have often set myself up as judge, jury, and executioner. I have played God. I have done things I’m not proud of and hope I don’t have to do again.” Rafe leaned forward now and gave Sky an even stare. “But if circumstances require it, I will do those things again.” A pause. “There are worse pirates here. Those who would kill, rape, and destroy for the hell of it. Only out for themselves with no goal but to survive another day and take from everyone else to do so. When I come across them, I kill them.” Rafe leaned back again. “How about you? How does a member of the peerage get stuck in this hellhole?”

  Sky sensed this was as much of his life story she was going to get from Hawkins at this time, so went with the change of subject. She smiled, “Call of duty. I’m a captain in her majesty’s navy. Being a duchess is just a side job. I go where I’m ordered to go by the Admiralty.”

  “How did you end up with a career in the Navy? My understanding is most the peers do a short stint in the military or some other government agency of service because it is expected of them, and then they move on to other things.”

  Now Sky got the faraway look as she thought back on her life. She took a drink from her beer before answering. “That’s usually true but I always wanted to be in the Navy - the travel, adventure, and excitement. I also think the Navy does some good in the universe. When I was seventeen, I attended The Academy. After my first operational tour, I decided this was the life for me. Never looked back and never regretted the decision. As the Duchess of Albithor, I’m a member of the upper house and get special dispensation from my duties to attend Parliament sessions whenever possible. Beyond Parliament, my brother does all the duties for the title. Other than that, I’m just an average naval officer.”

  Rafe smiled, “I doubt you were ever average. I understand Albithor is a region on the planet Beryl.”

  “Beryl was the second planet settled after Zelenka. It is right next door so we’ve been around since the beginning of the Empire. Since we started early, we have fourteen peer titles on Beryl, more than most planets, so I’m not all that important in the big scheme of the peerage of the Aurora Empire. Beryl is always well represented by the peers when required.”

  She flipped the conversation back to him. “How many ships have you crewed in?”

  Rafe looked at the overhead as he counted. “Three legitimate traders - first two for a short time each, and the last one for two years. I moved to the pirate career then and have been on five pirate ships. Crewed in the first and then moved up in billets in the next two and was the captain of the last two. Learned a lot on all the ships and from their captains. I’m sure you did the same. You hope you learn what to do, but just as often, you learn what not to do. I am still learning. How many ships have you served in?”

  “Mackenzie is the fourth. Normally I would be just the ship’s captain, but I am the captain and also the flotilla commander. Would be alright if this crisis hadn’t come up, but now my XO is serving as Mackenzie’s captain, and I’m functioning solely as the flotilla commander.”

  “At least your captains will actually do what you tell them to do. It is always problematic in Flot 1.”

  “That’s a nice lead in for me. Killian O’Hare?”

  Rafe sat and considered his response for a moment. “She is a bit eccentric, or she is a complete and totally crazy bitch. Depends on your point of view.” Rafe paused and thought for a few seconds without looking at Sky. “She is the most successful of all of us as far as prizes, money, and taking the fight to the enemy. In the beginning, she was high tempo operations and you never knew what she would do. This led to a high turnover among her crew and the crews of her squadron ships, but now the people who are still with her are hardcore and devoted to her. She has little turnover in crew and never any trouble ashore. She has never deliberately killed innocents and never bites off more than she can chew. And, quite frankly, her reputation gives people pause before they screw around with anyone from Flot 1. I have sent her after a few people and she always got them. Rather spectacularly too.” Another pause and then he looked directly at Sky. “She is at least a little crazy but has reason to be. In a way, she is my dark side. I could easily be what she is. But I don’t have to be because I have her for the dirty work. She is the ultimate enforcer for the flotilla. I need her, and she is smart enough to know she needs me. I would never desert her, and I know she will never desert me. I suspect that will never change.”

  Sky nodded and smiled, “Your command is much more complicated than mine. How long have you had Flot 1?”

  “In its current form, almost two years, but I have been teamed up with some of the Flot 1 ships for longer than that. We have grown over time.”

  “Keep it up and you’ll have a navy.”

  Hawkins shook hi
s head, “This is as big as I want to get. We have plenty of applicants who want to join the flotilla, but I like where we are now. If we take any losses in ships or crew, we can get replacements with no problem. The limiting factor is the logistics side. Food and water are easy, but it is a continuing challenge to keep us in munitions and maintenance parts. Looking back on it, I wished I stole more Edinburgh ships. Would have made the maintenance effort more streamlined with the same type ships rather than the circus we have now. Adding more dissimilar ships to the flotilla won’t help that. Don’t know what I would do without Riki. She makes it work.”

  Rafe glanced up and over Mallory’s shoulder. He saw Tactical at the open door waiting calmly for a break in the conversation. In response to Rafe’s glaze, Sky turned and saw Tactical. Rafe tilted his head in a question. Tactical spoke in response. “Brief is done with the captains and Ops officers. Shane Delacruz is about to pull out.” She turned and departed. The two commanders now drained the last of their beers and set the bottles on the desk. Both rose and Sky extended her hand and Rafe shook it. “Good hunting, Flag Captain.”